All Over Albany

Cuomo to name local economic development council, Colonie landfill vote tonight, 91-year-old grandmother entering World Series of Poker, scooter riding dog in Niskayuna

A new Capital Region economic council will compete for a share of $1 billion in state funds. Representatives from SEFCU, Albany Medical Center, RPI, and the University at Albany are expected to be part of the council, which Andrew Cuomo will announce this morning. The council will cover the counties of Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Warren, Columbia, Greene, and Washington. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

The Colonie Town Board is expected to vote tonight on a plan to privatize the town landfill. The town has refused requests to release the full contract ahead of tonight's vote. The $100 million deal would help close the town's budget deficit. [YNN] [TU]

CDTA is attributing a 7 percent increase in ridership this past spring to higher gas prices. Local scooter and motorcycle dealers also say they've seen an increase in business because of gas prices. [CBS6] [Fox23]

Airfare prices at ALB were up 11 percent last quarter compared to the year before -- to an average of more than $400, according to federal Department of Transportation. [TU]

The Saratoga Springs planning board approved the plans for a four-story mixed use building on the site of the parking lot on Broadway between Lillian's and Cantina. [Saratogian]

Family of the people who died in house explosion in Salem two weeks ago have received an outpouring of community support. [WNYT]

RPI has added two former NASA officials to its administration. One of them -- Laurie Leshin, the school's new dean of science -- did research in chemical cosmology and astrobiology before joining NASA. [RPI] [RPI]

There's now a "Save the Totem Pole" petition for the Jefferson Street totem pole in Albany. [Fox23]

UAlbany's NanoCollege wants the state's renewable energy agency to put up $25 million for the college's new solar energy research institute. [TU]

Acting Albany County sheriff Craig Apple says a woman awaiting deportation at the Albany County jail died overnight Wednesday from a heart condition. [AP/CBS6]

A Warrensburg man who called WTEN to threaten the life of a Warren County judge in May has pleaded guilty -- but says he has no memory of making the call. [Post-Star]

The task force in charge of the effort to eradicate invasive Asian clams from Lake George says large mats laid on the lake bottom have killed off most of the clams -- but it needs more money to finish the job. [Post-Star] [TU]

Lake George's mayor says marauding, trolley-riding, drug-and-alcohol-fueled youth have been cause trouble in the village after dark. [WTEN]

A Ballston Lake man says he got a Pizza Hut pizza with a bloody band-aid baked into the crust. [WTEN]

A local performance troupe made up of people with disabilities has expanded to more than 30 members and has mounted a production at the Cohoes Music Hall. [TU]

A hybrid car taxi company has started in Saratoga. [Saratogian]

A photographer who shot jockeys for a beefcake calendar says she was careful to angle the shots in a way that didn't emphasize their stature. [TU]

Professional poker player Shaun Deeb has paid the $10,000 entry fee for his grandmother -- Ellen Deeb, 91, of Troy -- to enter the World Series of Poker this November in Las Vegas. [WNYT]

Norman the scooter-riding dog made a stop in Niskayuna yesterday. [CBS6]